Footlight Fever Explained

Footlight Fever
Director:	Irving Reis
Producer:	Howard Benedict
Screenplay:	Bert Granet Ian McLellan Hunter
Starring:	Alan Mowbray Donald MacBride Elyse Knox
Cinematography:	Robert De Grasse
Editing:	Theron Warth
Studio:	RKO Radio Pictures
Distributor:	RKO Radio Pictures
Runtime:	69 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Footlight Fever is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Irving Reis and starring Alan Mowbray, Donald MacBride, Elisabeth Risdon and Elyse Knox. Produced and distributed by RKO Pictures, it is a sequel to the 1940 film Curtain Call.

Plot

Alan Mowbray and Donald MacBride reprise their roles as theatrical producers Donald Avery and Geoffrey 'Jeff' Crandall. This time they try to con a millionairess into funding their latest show by posing as old friends of her lost love.

Cast

• Alan Mowbray as Avery
• Donald MacBride as Crandall
• Elisabeth Risdon as Aunt Hattie
• Lee Bonnell as John Carter
• Elyse Knox as Eileen Drake
• Charles Quigley as Spike
• Georgia Backus as Imogene, Secretary
• Eddie Borden as Joe
• Chester Clute as Mr. Holly
• Charles Halton as Mr. E.J. Fingernogle
• Lew Kelly as Jarvis
• Mantan Moreland as Willie Hamsure, Elevator Operator
• Bradley Page as Harvey Parker
• Keye Luke as Chinese Restaurant Waiter

Reception

It lost $40,000 at the box office.^[1] A reviewer in Variety felt the film was predictable as "there's not an unexpected moment in it".^[2]

Bibliography

• Tucker, David C. Gale Storm: A Biography and Career Record. McFarland, 2018.

Notes and References

1. Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p159
2. Tucker p.240